Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot-Chapter 365 - 340: Twins of Dragon and Phoenix

Lu Yuan had long suffered enough from her flattery and wasn’t buying it.

"You don’t believe me?"

Meng Qianqian asked, her expression wounded.

Lu Yuan asked coldly, "Meng Xiaojiu, when you’re with me, just how many words of yours are actually truthful?"

Meng Qianqian answered instantly, "All of them are truthful!"

Lu Yuan squinted his eyes dangerously.

But then, as if remembering something, he suppressed his anger.

He hadn’t slept the whole night; Nanny Li had come to find him in the study and told him many things about her time in the Lu Family.

"When the young lady was a child, she was a lively and clever girl, round and plump. Everyone who saw her said she was blessed. But alas, she married into the Lu Family. I watched as the smile on her face faded, and eventually disappeared altogether. She became thinner by the day."

"After she married you, young master, it was as if she came alive again... Even though the young lady sometimes likes to provoke you, I think it’s because she trusts you from the bottom of her heart. Please, show her more tolerance."

"And, please, young master, take care of yourself. We all hope for you and the young lady to have children soon and live a long, happy life together."

Lu Yuan strode briskly into the Ministry of Justice.

Meng Qianqian watched his suave figure as he walked away, her eyes blinking.

He... just let her off the hook like that?

Not using this opportunity to add another debt to her account?

"So strange, that wouldn’t be like him. Since when was the Great Traitor so agreeable?"

"If you keep muttering, I’ll add this to your tab!"

"I won’t mutter, I won’t mutter!"

Meng Qianqian hurried after him briskly.

At this time of day, the Ministry of Justice should have been at its busiest, but the grand hall was empty, with only a few government officials sweeping the courtyard. They didn’t even notice anyone coming in.

"You, come here."

Lu Yuan called out to one of the younger officials.

The official glanced up and recognized his purple official robes. "G-Grand Commander?"

The others, hearing his voice, also looked over, startled, and hastily bowed to Lu Yuan and Meng Qianqian.

Lu Yuan asked calmly, "Only the few of you here in the Ministry? Where is everyone else?"

There was a Prime Minister "detained" in the Ministry; the defenses should not have been this lax.

The singled-out official answered respectfully, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, the Chief of Staff has sent the others out to investigate cases."

Lu Yuan frowned in suspicion. "Where is Chief Xing?"

The official said, "He’s in the duty office with several other officials handling a case. The Chief instructed us not to disturb them."

Meng Qianqian glanced at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan gave a slight nod, exchanging a knowing look with her.

Meng Qianqian immediately dashed toward Chief Xing’s duty office.

She was so fast that Lu Yuan didn’t have time to stop her.

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth in anger.

He had signaled that she was correct, but that didn’t mean for her to charge in. Had she forgotten everything he said to her in the hidden passage?!

Meng Qianqian kicked the door open while drawing her blade in one fluid motion.

"Husband, you can come in now."

She poked her small head out from inside the door.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and mentally added another mark to someone’s record.

Inside the duty office, several officials of the Ministry of Justice lay sprawled across the floor, unconscious.

The two who hadn’t lost consciousness—Chief Xing and Steward Hu—were tied up with ropes and silenced by pressure points, sitting on chairs.

Meng Qianqian hurried over to unblock their pressure points and untie them.

Steward Hu, finally able to speak, called out in excitement, "It was Chen Long! It was Chen Long!"

They had anticipated Chen Long might "storm" into the Ministry of Justice, but even so, they hadn’t expected him to be this bold. Couldn’t he have sneaked in with Qinggong instead?

Meng Qianqian gave an awkward laugh. "Steward Hu, you’ve been silenced for too long. Please don’t get too worked up, or you might have a stroke."

Steward Hu immediately shut his mouth.

Chief Xing, worthy of being the head of criminal investigations, was calm and composed.

Having sat too long, his legs had gone numb, and he couldn’t stand to salute. Instead, with a complex expression, he said, "Chen Long went to find the Prime Minister. I must trouble the two of you to apprehend him."

"This..." Meng Qianqian chuckled nervously, "Uncle Xing, could we... talk privately?"

Chief Xing gave Meng Qianqian a long, thoughtful look before frowning. "You wish to plead for Chen Long?"

Meng Qianqian thought: As expected of Great Zhou’s foremost criminal investigator, he guessed it in one sentence!

Chief Xing said sternly, "Chen Long is a fugitive wanted by the court. It’s not that I refuse to do you this favor; it’s that I simply cannot."

Had it been someone else, Meng Qianqian would have used threats or persuasion. But standing before her was Uncle Xing. She couldn’t bring herself to do it.

She turned to Lu Yuan, pleading with her eyes.

Think of a way, husband.

Lu Yuan said flatly, "Add to the tab."

Meng Qianqian gritted her teeth. "Fine, fine, fine!"

Chief Xing, utterly confused, could not understand what the couple was hinting at.

But no matter what tricks they might try, he was determined not to let a single court fugitive go.

Lu Yuan pulled something out of his wide sleeve, his expression solemn as he handed it to Chief Xing. "The Supreme Emperor’s secret decree."

...

In the dim prison cell.

Chen Long stood before Prime Minister Xun, who sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed in meditation.

Though a high-ranking official, Chief Xing had not afforded him any special treatment.

Yet even in such a predicament, Prime Minister Xun remained unflustered and composed.

Chen Long stopped before him, looking down at him condescendingly.

Without opening his eyes, Prime Minister Xun said, "You’re here."

That he recognized him without looking wasn’t surprising to Chen Long. A man in Xun’s position couldn’t have reached his current stature without real ability.

Chen Long said, "You tried to kill me to silence me, but unfortunately, you failed."

Prime Minister Xun replied, "That’s not necessarily a bad thing."

"Is that so?" Chen Long said coldly, tossing a booklet to the ground. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Prime Minister Xun opened his eyes slowly, glancing at the booklet. His expression remained unchanged—or so it seemed to Chen Long.

But Chen Long knew the immense significance of that booklet to him.

"Lu Yuan discovered plenty of evidence in the secret passage, enough to condemn the Prime Minister’s Mansion. For many of those crimes, you could easily find a foster son to take the fall. But the Western Regions’ supposed victory, which was nothing but a grand lie you concocted with the ten dukes, that crime is not so easily pawned off."

For a fleeting moment, a subtle change crossed Prime Minister Xun’s face.

Chen Long continued, "You molded Lu Yuan into a treacherous official feared by all, just so that one day he could take the blame for this. You knew Lu Yuan protected the Supreme Emperor and the officials and factions you couldn’t bring into your fold right under your nose. That was all part of your plan. You wanted Lu Yuan to become powerful enough to bear the charge of treason."

"But in the end, the tiger you raised bit you instead."

"Lu Yuan is no ordinary orphan. He has the entire Miaojiang backing him. That’s the one thing you didn’t account for, isn’t it?"

"As for this evidence, I haven’t shown it to Lu Yuan, nor told anyone about it. If you hand over the Shang Family’s child, I’ll return the evidence to you."

Prime Minister Xun gazed into Chen Long’s eyes.

Chen Long said gravely, "You know I’m not lying."

Prime Minister Xun stared at him for a long while. "That pair of children..."

Chen Long froze. "That pair?"

Prime Minister Xun replied, "Indeed, the second madam of the Shang Family gave birth to twins—a boy and a girl."